Monday, March 8, 2010

Ever since Big Sister E could stand, she has done this thing where she leans forward, raises one leg (somewhat awkwardly) behind or in front of her and says, "I'm a dancer!" I'm not sure where she picked up that line or even learned what a dancer was, but it's a random thing that she has always done.

So, you can imagine her delight when the Paris Opera Ballet began performing Swan Lake right in our living room.

Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake was designed by two moms who were determined to bring the beauty and magic of ballet into the lives of children everywhere. With no prior experience, a producer or even a studio, Stephanie Troeller and Mary Kate Mellow worked together to create a program that is not only entertaining but culturally enriching.

On top of all that, it's cute, too.

In the 40-minute presentation for ages 3 - 6, Prima Princessa (an animated fairy ballerina) talks a group of little girls through watching segments of Swan Lake and mixes in directions to a few simple ballets moves with young dancers from the School of American Ballet.

Don't most all girls want to be a princess or a ballerina or both for most of their childhood? This DVD gives them that chance, both by taking viewers scene by scene through portions of Swan Lake, by teaching them a few easy ballet terms (Big Sister E liked repeating "jete, jete" over and over again) and by encouraging them to get up and participate in trying out their new moves.

Both Big Sister E and Little Sister B sat mesmerized by the beginning of Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake, as they had been told it was about dancing, but not much else. I really enjoyed the narration that went along with the clips of Swan Lake and the way that it made getting into the story so easy.

When it came time for the little girls to dance, the music was happy and beautiful and it made staying in our seats almost impossible, which was a good thing. After a large amount of twirling and whirling, Big Sister E had to get in one last "being a dancer" before sitting down again:

I mentioned it was awkward, right?

Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake was re-released March 2 and is now available on Amazon and in Target, as well as other stores across the country. If you have a little girl in your life that has any dreams or aspirations of being a ballerina, this DVD is the perfect gift for her. For added fun, the Prima Princessa website also contains a ballet dictionary, printable coloring pages, a teacher's guide and more. And, thanks to their generosity, one person will get to surprise the princess they know, because...

One lucky person will win a copy of Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lakeof their own!

To enter to win Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake: Visit Prima Princessa and tell me something interesting that you learned or found there.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).1 Extra Entry (per method) if you subscribe to the Prima Princessa newsletter and/or subscribe by email to the Prima Princessa blog, TutuZone.1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

2 Extra Entries (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect (see sidebar), subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email.3 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to Thanks, Mail Carrier and Prima Princessa. Please leave an address where it can be found.Giveaway will end on April 1st at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.

A big thank you to Prima Princessa for providing a copy of Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. We're still twirling! This review was made possible due to my membership at The Product Review Place. The opinions shared are my own and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.

The producers of the “Prima Princessa” DVD series, Stephanie Troeller and Mary Kate Mellow, are both mothers of dance loving daughters, who were the original source of inspiration for the series. bwneyes100 AT hotmail DOT com